


Laufeyson

by Amaryllidaceae



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alien Culture, Asgard (Marvel), Brothers, Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Dimension Travel, Family, Gen, Jotunn | Frost Giant, Jötunheimr | Jotunheim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaryllidaceae/pseuds/Amaryllidaceae
Summary: Finding out, that you're not your parents son, isn't easy.Finding and dealing with your birth family and their friends/enemies is even less so.Or: A story in which Harry travels into another dimension in order to find Sirius and his birth parents to live happily ever after and finding the Avengers, Loki and complications instead.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Harry stared at the letter in his hands, disbelieving. There were many things in his life that were, plainly put, absurd. He tended to get into a ridiculous amount of trouble and had had no shortage of adventures in his life, but this was topping all he had ever experienced, maybe even the fact that he had been dead and still lived.

 

_Harry,_

_My dear boy, I am writing you with the certainty that I won't live to see this school year end as I have touched a curse that will eventually kill me. I do not wish my death to be in vain, so I have instructed Severus to kill me in order to convince Voldemort of his complete allegiance._

_If you are reading this, then hopefully my plans have unfolded themselves without fault and you live while Voldemort does no longer, nor his horcruxes including the one in your scar._

_Forgive me, Harry, for I have failed you._

_Looking back with certain death in sight, I realise that I have made grave mistakes concerning you. I wished for you to grow up loved and I failed. I wished for you to remain an innocent child for as long as possible and I failed. I wished for you to never get thrown into a war that young and yet I failed once again. And even knowing what was heading your way, I have kept secrets from you in order to shield you. But now, I am no longer sure, whether it was the wisest course of action._

_Harry, I am so sorry for everything you have endured, be it on my account or because of my inaction._

_And though it pains me, I feel like I must shed even the last secret that I've kept from you for your own protection and it will shatter your world once again, I am afraid. It is the truth about your origin._

_For Lily and James Potter never were your biological parents._

_To understand, I must tell you about the original Harry Potter. He was born at the end of the seventh month, just like the prophecy proclaimed, and was suspected to be the one it spoke of. Lily and James went into hiding, doing their utmost to keep him safe. Yet they failed to take hazards into account, that were not caused by human hands. Harry Potter died in the dead of night on December 31st 1980 by getting bit by a venomous snake while everyone slept. We rightfully believed it to be an assassination attempt by Voldemort to get the prophesied one out of the way._

_While the Potters mourned and told no one of it but me, I tended to go into the hall of prophecies quite a lot, staring at the untouchable orb and searching for answers inside my mind. It was on such a day that I made my way out of the department of mysteries when I heard an infants wail with no one around. Investigating the out-of-place sound I entered the death chamber._

_Laying in front of the veil, there was a most curious infant. It had skin as blue as ice and eyes as red as blood, something akin to tribal tattoos adorning its body. Otherwise, it was a completely normal newborn._

_I knew, that if I told anyone, this innocent child would be taken away by the Unspeakable to be experimented on. So I did the only thing, my conscience allowed me to. I took it with me in secret._

_While pondering what to do with it in my office, Lily and James flooed over, wanting to tell me that they would rejoin the active fighting. Though when Lily first laid her eyes on the infant, that obviously had no one to care for it and was starving, her heart instantly melted. It was hungry and Lily still had milk to give. The two of them decided to take the boy in as their own. Not wanting him to grow up faced with prejudice because of his unknown heritage, they gave him their late son’s place and name and I was the one that spelled him with a resemblance charm, as well as a magical blockage, aided by a potion to make it last._

_Thus it was that the found infant took the place of Harry Potter._

_As you probably already concluded, that infant was you._

_In my ignorance I had assumed that either the prophecy had been fulfilled by the original Harry's death or was describing Neville Longbottom. Voldemort though thought the assassination attempt failed and sought to finish Harry Potter off himself, leading to the events of that particular halloween night and him marking you as his equal, making you the one the prophecy spoke of, thus concluding this story._

_I hope, that one day you will be able to forgive me for my silence and deception about your origin, as well as the veil. I told myself that it was for the greater good, not to tell you, that I never believed Sirius dead, because he vanished the way that you most probably appeared. It is my belief that the veil is a portal to another wold, maybe even another dimension, and that your godfather may yet live on the other side._

_I know, there is probably nothing I could say to make my silence on the matter acceptable to you. I have seen, how you grieved, and though it pained me, I never said a word, afraid that in an act of grief you would follow him, leaving us to Voldemort’s mercy as no one but you is capable of killing him._

_Now though, after my death and hopefully Voldemort's, there is no longer any justification to keep this from you. The truth is, it has always been your right to know._

_Believe me, when I tell you, that keeping this from you was one of the most painful secrets I’ve kept, only second to the one about your scar._

_I hope, this will bring you no further pain than necessary and that one day, you might even think of me fondly once again, for you have always been like a grandson to me, I love as though you were my own._

_In regrets and hope for a better day,_

_Albus_

 

The letter had arrived on the morning of his twentieth birthday per Fawkes. Harry no longer knew what to think, his eyes finally wandering from the letter to his hands. Blue. What kind of creature had blue skin, never mind the eyes?

A hurtful nip on his ear, that painfully reminded him of Hedwig, had him look up at the phoenix who had stayed, much to his surprise. He let out a soothing thrill, that had Harry smiling sadly. He carefully scratched his feathers in thanks. “Thank you, Fawkes. I know, it must be painful to deliver a letter from your late wizard after all this time since… You must still be grieving.”

The phoenix let out a mournful sound and nestled his head against Harry's hand. For a while, they sat in companionable silence, each contemplating their own sorrows. Then, without warning, his beak snapped at his finger, breaking skin.

“Ouch! Fawkes! What was that for?”, Harry exclaimed, jumping up more in surprise than pain. The flaming bird chirped admonishingly and hacked at his own talon, drawing blood as well. The wizard simply stared as Fawkes raised the bloody talon and let a drop fall on Harry's own wound.

He felt the effect instantly. A link to his mind, that hadn't been there before, was growing fast, connecting him to the phoenix. He felt the bird’s sorrow and loss about Albus, as well as its joy and peace about his joining with Harry. Even though, he had never heard of it before, he instinctively knew, that the phoenix had forged a familiar bond with him, a bond that changed the both of them.

The flames took on a deep emerald colour, the feathers becoming pitch black with green tips, the eyes turning a luminescent bright red. Meanwhile, Harry could feel the changes in himself in a more subtle way. His veins felt on fire, but the sensation soon faded into a pleasant rush of magic. His eyes suddenly were capable of seeing colors, he had never seen before. He didn't even have _words_ for them. Also, he was able to sense every heat source in the room, from the living body of the bird to the candle he had forgotten on the other side of the room. He was sure, there was more, but those were the most obvious changes.

_Your magic is like a chilling wind in winter, little fledgling._

Harry's head snapped to Fawkes - no, that was no longer his name, he felt it. The phoenix had been reborn upon their union, gaining a new body as well as a new identity. “ _Virnim_.” His new familiar let out an agreeing tweet. “Well, yours feels like fire in my veins. And I’m not a fledgling!”

Laughter. _For me, you are. I might not be old for a phoenix, but with over six centuries on my back I'm still far older than you, little one._

The wizard rolled his eyes, neither agreeing, nor disagreeing with the fact. He knew when a battle was lost. “So, ever-so-wise elder, what do you think I should do?” He held up the letter to make certain he was understood, even though it wasn't really necessary. He was already projecting it to the bird with his mind, taking the unexpected familiar bond in stride. Stranger things had happened to him.

 _Well, isn't it obvious? You have to decide whether you wish to live on as if nothing happened or you want to travel through the veil, discovering your origin and in the best case scenario finding your godfather on the way. Really, it is up to you. I will follow whatever you decide, you are now my wizard after all._ He got the feeling of a bird version shrug via their bond.

Harry sighed. “How could I decide? I mean, there is no guarantee I would be able to come back, if I do this, no matter how I appeared as a baby. Otherwise Sirius would have long returned by now. So the choice is between leaving everything I love and know or giving up my longing and hope for a real family.” An affirmative vibe, as well as amusement as Harry felt the bird loitering around his mind. The wizard sent him annoyance. “You know, it’s rude to invade another's privacy.”

_Oh come on, it's not like what I'm learning from what I see isn't obvious. You aren't happy here. Your love life has hit the ground two years prior while your two best friends can't get enough from each other and start through with their careers, neglecting you in the process. Being with the Weasley family is rather strenuous since Fred’s death and your break-up with the youngest. Luna is off to see the world and Neville is being swallowed up by his botanical successes. The rest of the world either hails the ground you're walking on or annoys you to no end, mostly both. Admit it, you are tired of it all._

Harry eyed the bird warily. “Not that it isn't true, but why am I getting the feeling that you want off this world as well?”

Virnim snickered unashamed, underlying sadness in his heart. _You got me there. Let's just say, that I'm tired of this world as well and I have nothing to hold me here, except you._

Surprised, Harry instinctively reached towards him through the bond. It was a distorting experience, but understandable nonetheless. Virnim was an outcast of his race, considered defective even, one of the few in history whose unstable magic practically demanded that he be bound to another, lest he perish. Those phoenixes were destined to never find a mate and accompany one wizard or witch after another, decades between them at most, watching them die after one another, until they couldn't take the heartbreak any longer and committed suicide by not bonding for a century, one of the only ways for that kind of phoenix to truly die.

He gasped as he pulled back his mind, Virnim soothing him with his link as well as his voice. _Calm, little fledgling, eternity isn't meant to be spent alone, but to be treasured together. It is the reason that I tend to bond stronger wizards, though. Their magic usually helps them to age slower. But you shouldn't concern yourself, little one. You are stronger than any other I have bonded with before and have a heart of gold. So fate is will, our partnership will be a long and happy one._

There was undoubtedly a frog in his throat. Harry didn't even attempt to speak and reached out, physically as well as with his mind, to touch his familiar, giving both of them the comfort they sorely needed.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he decided the obvious: “We will go through the veil.” A feeling of uncertainty overcame him, not about them going but about how to do this.

 _You should pack everything you can,_ Virnim told him decidedly, _definitely gold and jewels, you don't know the currency of where we'll go but precious metals and stones are universal money. A huge amount of ingredients and other potion utilities, we don't know what kind of plants there are, maybe even some seedlings if we’re to settle down over there. Books, a whole lot of books on magic, there is still lots to learn about it for you and there might not even be magic as we know it on the other side. Also, a backup wand for the same reason. And anything else you might need - like food, water, clothes, protection gear, camping equipment, brooms, extra potions and so on. We do not know in what kind of environment we will end up in and magic is known to fail sometimes. Oh and lots of nuts and berries for me or I'll be cross with you, maybe a comfortable perch or two as well. We should also check your vaults for anything useful besides money, like heirlooms and ancient tomes. We have one shot to do this right, so let's do it thoroughly._

Harry blinked. “Huh. Good thinking. Let's do that.” Who knew that the flaming bird could give Hermione a run for her money in the organization department?

_And if you're going to find your family, it might be best to take a nullification potion. It will cleanse you from all foreign magic, given that it isn't anchored to deeply or the dark arts. Albus made sure that if you wanted to find your true self, you would be able to do so easily._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,  
> I'd like to be truthful with you:  
> Firstly, English is not my first language and this is my first attempt to write a story in English. Please close your eyes if my spelling or grammar displeases you. I do try to check my work over, though.  
> Secondly, I will try to update more or less regularly (though I do not know in which kind of intervals yet, that remains to be seen), but I cannot promise you such in good conscience as my writing speed is greatly dependent on my mood.  
> Thirdly, concerning the contents I see this story mainly going into the direction of Asgard and Jotunheim after a stay with the Avengers. It looks like the focus will be on family and culture. Oh and Sirius won't appear until much later. If I last that long, I have plans until and including Infinity War, but as I said before: the fights of the Avengers won't be the main theme of this story.  
> Finally, I hope you liked this first view of my work (never fear, the next chapter is already longer). Reviews are always welcomed and encouraged.  
> Sincerely,  
> Amaryllidaceae


	2. Chapter 2

 

Harry stood in front of the veil, taking a deep and calming breath, Vir, as he had gotten used to call the indignant bird, perched on his shoulder. “You sure this won't kill me?”

Amusement flooded towards him. _No, but you survived the killing curse and Albus was pretty confident that this is a portal. Odds are, you are going to survive. Probably._

“Well, a little comfort at least”, he grumbled sarcastically. In the months of planning, shopping and packing, as well as learning to control his new body and powers and putting his affairs to order, he had come to learn that the bloody bird was nothing like he had always thought. It was as much a perk as it was a detriment, though he was eighty percent sure, that the flaming chicken was mostly a menace.

He cleared his head from any, given reasonable, fears and nodded in determination. Vir’s feathers bristled in anticipation. “Alright. Here goes nothing.”

For a moment, everything was fine. Then they got suck into a swirling dark vortex, which soon turned out to be some kind of transport tube. Fascinated, Harry reached out to touch the edge.

_Don't!_ , Vir snapped at him, _you might throw us out into the space between by doing that. And then, there will be no telling where we'll end up - if we don't perish into nothingness we will be stranded who-knows-where. But Albus seems to have been right, this is a portal. I feel it in my feathers._

Harry was tempted to make a joke about it, but suppressed the urge in favour of a harmonious partnership at the end of this journey. So he stayed silent, taking in the unique experience of travelling between wolds - or dimensions, whatever was the case here.

After what felt like an eternity, they were finally spit out - straight onto Whitehall near Times Square under the eyes of hundreds that had backed away, black runes covering the ground Harry was standing on.

For a moment everything was silent, then the shouting began. Voices, some excited, most afraid, raised the volume around him to the maximum, so that he was not able to discern anything.

“Bloody hell”, the wizard cursed, looking around wide-eyed, “if this world has a secret magical society, I just blew up the secret.” He knew how he looked like, a rather slender young man with blazing green eyes, untamed black hair and porcelain skin with aristocratic features, dressed in skin tight dark green basilisk skin armor complete with boots and cape, an emerald flaming bird with red eyes on his shoulder. Harry had opted to only change his skin and eyes when discovering his metamorphmagus ability to conceal his heritage, keeping his new facial features and statue and regaining his adoptive mother’s eyes.

_We will know if aurors show up for the clean-up. Still, if there isn't something like that here, it might be best to simply flee and stay low key for a while, maybe changing your appearance. Muggles don't do well with the supernatural. Maybe they'll think us aliens or something._

Just as he was contemplating to just up and leave this chaos behind to explore this world, there was the sound of loaded guns. Harry didn't have a lot of experience with them, but he had at least learnt about them by observing Dudley playing video games and shooting aliens, unlike most wizards.

“Slowly raise your hands and don't move!” Harry blinked as he saw the police men in front of him fan out and aim. It felt a little surreal to see them so organized in face of the unknown, like they were used to such strange occurrences.

Slowly, he did as he was told and raised his arms. “I mean you no harm. I come in peace”, he called out and felt ridiculously like the aliens in Dudley's game. Just for the heck of it, figuring that it couldn't get worse, he went on: “is this world called earth?” Seeing the quite high and unknown technological standard, he quickly added: “and what is the year?”

The men hesitated, visibly thrown by such a cooperative probable alien. When there was the sound of an engine, they visibly relaxed. Harry frowned and turned towards the sound. A bird - no a flying suit came his way, landing a couple of feet in front of him, aiming something that looked like a rocket at him. “Hell, you look… well, never mind. I am Iron Man, an Avenger and mighty protector of this planet, etc. Who are you, are you from Asgard and what do you want here? Do try to not blow this out of proportion, I have a date tonight that I really don't want to be late for.”

Harry blinked at the metal suit, mouth agape. “Bloody hell! Is that a robot or is there a human inside? What bloody year is it?!”, he completely ignored the questions. His mind was still boggling from the fact that the muggles had developed their technology that far on this world.

Iron Man sighed and opened his face plate, never pointing the weapon away. “Yes, I'm human. It's the year 2012 and this is Earth. What are you - a time traveller?”

“You sound like that has happened before”, Harry warily replied. Talking was alright for now, but if the suit looked like it was about to attack, they were getting the hell out of here. In his mind Vir gave an affirmative feeling.

The suited man shrugged. “You would be surprised. We've had gods and invading alien armies. Time travel wouldn't surprise me.”

“Gods and aliens?” It made sense. Muggles tended to classify anything they couldn't explain as beyond mortal realms. Maybe that had happened with the gods. And the aliens? Well, Harry and his blue skin had to come from somewhere and this looked like his Earth only a couple of years later, minus the magical flows. He could feel it in his bones.

_And you laughed about me feeling it in my feathers_ , groused Vir. _At least feathers make sense. They are a highly magical substance after all. But bones? Pfft. That is just plain strange._ He gave his bird a sensation of exasperation. Vir deliberately ignored it. _But you're right. There is no flowing magic here like it's used regularly, only wild swirls. It might be harder to get it to react, as unused to being used as it is, but it's more potent. There are definitely no or if few magic users or magical creatures here. Good thing, we brought those ingredients. But better don't mention your heritage. Invading aliens doesn't sound like they will be very friendly if they find out._

“Mhm. Well, I don't know about aliens or gods. I have been living on Earth as long as I can remember”, he told the man in front of him truthfully, “its just that I come from another dimension, a different version of earth, by the looks of it. It looks about the same London as where I come from, but there are differences that can't be explained by time travel alone, though I do come from our version of 2000.”

Iron Man raised a brow and looked him up and down. “Unexplainable like the sense of fashion. I mean, no offense but what's with all the leather? And the bird by the way. And the year 2000? Man, most people didn't even use flat screens back then! Never fear, we’ll get you up to date technology-wise - well if S.H.I.E.L.D. clears you to gain refuge here that is.” He finally lowered his weapon. “How did you end up here anyway? This circle-thingy looks a lot like the rainbow bridge, but its energy output has a different wave length - and color.”

“Err…” Harry quite honestly had no idea about technology or what the hell the guy was talking about. “We- Well, there is a portal device in one of our governmental laboratories”, he explained as muggle friendly as possible, “I have no idea how it works, to be honest. I only went through to find a friend of mine that fell in it a little while ago.”

The suited man nodded and winked him over. “That’s good enough for me. Come on, you seem friendly enough for me, so let's continue this talk elsewhere. Preferably somewhere with access to a bar. I have a feeling I'm going to need it.”

For a moment, Harry wasn't sure whether to to follow him or not. On the one hand, he seemed sincere in his offer of peaceful talk, on the other hand, Harry knew from experience that one nice guy in an organization didn't mean that the latter was to be trusted.

_Follow him for now. It's never a good idea to be a fugitive from the government and we intend to stay here for a while. If something goes wrong, just apparate out. For the unlikely case that they can block you, there isn't much that can hinder the magic of a phoenix._ Harry had to agree with Vir, being on the run wasn't nice and he preferred to avoid such a scenario. Maybe he'd even need these people’s cooperation to find Sirius or his biological family.

“So what’s up with the bird and the flames?”

The wizard contemplated, whether to say something about the magical world or not. _Well it's not like they can verify anything, fledgling. Just act like it's a common thing or something. Pretend that there isn't anything special about us for the time being._

Harry blinked and shrugged. “His name is Vir. I am Harry by the way. His species is called a phoenix. Are there no phoenixes on this Earth?”

The metal suit stopped abruptly and faced him incredulously. “Are you kidding me? A phoenix? An honest to god damned phoenix? I thought they were supposed to burn red, not green. And is this legend about healing all wounds true? I mean, as far as I know there are no phoenixes on this planet but there are tons of stories about mythical creatures. Do you guys have dragons and unicorns as well?” His eyes lit up like a little child's.

Harry had to suppress a laugh. Iron Man reminded him of an eleven-year-old muggleborn that just found out about the other world. “Yeah, we do have them, though the dragons live in resorts and unicorns are rather rare and shy. Phoenix tears have healing properties and their flames are actually pure white in its natural state. Their flames change accordingly to the w-human they accompany.”

The other’s gaze sharpened and Harry felt like he had said something wrong. “Sooo”, he said rather slowly, “the green represents you?”

Harry, who had talked about this at length with his familiar before, carefully said in a false cheery voice: “Sure. Emerald green stands for loyalty and caring. A green character is quite emotional and expressive, though well-mannered. They strive for safety, security and acknowledgement. They need to love and be loved deeply.” Seeing the look Iron Man was giving him, Harry shrugged and grinned easily. “That's what the books say at least.”

“Green. Loyal and caring. Safety and love.” The suited man snorted, then outright laughed. It took a while for him to compose himself. Harry was sure, the only reason he was still standing was that all the metal held him upright. “Ah! That was a good one! I need to tell the others about this. Green and love! Well you had the expressiveness down at least.”

The man clapped Harry's free shoulder and went into a huge metal vehicle, ignoring the soldiers around them. The young man, though, frowned. The other man obviously had had experience with someone with a green attitude, aura, magic or any other kind of manifestation. And it was more than obvious that the concerning person had been severely misunderstood.

Harry had learned much about magic in its rawest forms since bonding with Virnim. The phoenix had expanded his horizons in the shortest amount of time. One of the things taught to him via their link were the colours of physical manifestation. Colours never lied. They were raw, unblemished magic in its purest form.

Still, there was a good chance the people here didn't understand magic or nature itself, after all the magic here was wild, unused. It stood to reason that people didn't understand what they weren't taught about. And really, who was to say that Iron Man really _did_ see a physical manifestation of magic or the soul. If magic wasn't common here, seeing its colours probably wasn't either.

Shoving such thoughts aside for the moment, he really had more important things to worry about right now, he settled into a seat of the vehicle. A… helicopter? Maybe, even if it was formed strangely. Iron Man, face still bare of the metal plate, sat down in front of him, still staring at Vir. “Are his flames hot? How are they burning?”

The wizard raised a brow. “Actually, I have never really thought about it, the burning thing I mean. And no, the flames do not hurt if he doesn't want them to.” Demonstrating the fact, he started to scratch the bird’s neck, the other man’s eyes taking in the sight with barely veiled interest. “Are you a scientist as well as a soldier, Mr. Iron Man?”

Caught, he smiled unabashedly. “Call me Tony. I’m hardly a soldier, only a civilian, genius, billionaire, former playboy philanthropist with a tad of civil courage.”

“Only”, Harry repeated dryly. Tony merrily pretended he hadn't heard. “Is it normal on this world for civilians to run around in a metal suit or do you have whole squads of Iron Men?”

“Oh no, I’m afraid I'm the only one, with a suit that is, ignoring the friend I gifted one. You see, I invented them. I really wasn't kidding about the genius part, kid. By the way, can I scan your flaming chicken? Never mind, already did. Huh, I might want to scan that again with proper equipment.”

Two indignant outcries were heard, one bird, one human. Only one was universally understood. “I’m not a child, _Tony_.” Really, he wasn't. He had fought in war, had been tortured and had killed. If this didn't make one grow up fast, he really didn't know what else. But most of all, he was still slightly touchy about sizes. He had grown to at least near-average height in the past few years, but still felt self-conscious about it. Hell, a lot of girls were taller than him. And didn't that put a dent into the pride of an internationally known hero and saviour? “I’m twenty bloody years old.”

The other man raised an eyebrow. “Oh, but you're definitely British. Wait do you have the United States or United Kingdom? Do you have countries at all? Well, looking at your attire - is that dragon leather by the way? The scales are kind of huge -, you could live in tribes but-”

“We’re not savages!”, Harry hotly protested. “We live in countries and cities, England, Scotland, France, Germany and so on. And no, this isn't dragon hide, it's basilisk - kind of comparable but more flexible while not loosing its toughness. Most people in my world don't run around in this stuff, only a few professionals. This is armour. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect on the other side of the portal. And I’d rather be prepared than be sorry.”

“A smart way of thinking, kid. But tell me, what kind of professional twenty-year-old runs around in _leather_ armour?” The emphasis on the last two words were unmistakably distain. He obviously didn't think much of the material, which the suit he was wearing only attested to.

“Basilisk hide is bullet proof”, Harry told him in a flat voice. Tony blinked in surprise. The younger of the two smirked, humour sprinkling in his bright green eyes. “And I guess, you could call me a civilian, hands-on genius, billionaire, damn lucky philanthropist with a tad of civil courage.”

Tony opened his mouth to answer, but a rather feminine voice drawled: “If you kids could stop bickering for a moment, we might as well continue and be on our way.” A redheaded, black clad and smoking hot woman stepped out of the shadows and smiled sweetly at them. “You may call me Natasha.” She made an inviting gesture. “After you.”

The complex they entered had Harry disoriented after only a couple of corridors, which was their purpose he supposed. It was no surprise when they ended up in an interrogation room and neither was the lady’s attendance. Harry had tirelessly worked to tie up loose ends after the official end of the war, attending more than a couple of interrogations, even leading some on his own. He was quite familiar with any technique there was and quite confident he could handle this - if these interesting muggles hadn't developed a way to imitate veritaserum.

Sitting across from him at a table in front of what was no doubt a two-way mirror - and not the kind Harry had shared with Sirius - the redhead smiled in a more than friendly way. “So, Harry. Before we begin, let me thank you for your cooperation. Not every person that came to us through a portal is that friendly. Though I must ask you, whether you have any weapons on your person. It's standard procedure, you understand, right?” Her voice tilted in a coquettish way.

Harry raised an eyebrow. Oh hell, there was no way he would do this. One redheaded woman had been enough to make him never even want to look at another again, let alone flirt in an obvious attempt to gain his trust. “Ma’m, I’m quite sure, you know that it would be stupid to travel into another world unarmed, as would be giving them up in an unknown environment. You are probably only asking so kindly because of my cooperation thus far and the fact that I doubt, that any kind of technology you have could scan through this leather. As I've explained Tony before, basilisk hide is quite useful.” If it was so magical, that magic couldn't get through, technology could even less so. This had been one of Hermione’s first discoveries, one of many.

Natasha dropped the smile and smirked. “Well, it was worth a shot. You would be surprised how many actually fall for it.”

_Oh, little fledgling. Look behind the mirror. That is actually quite interesting. I've never seen magic move this way before. Well, one reminds me of a werewolf, but it isn't quite it._ Vir sent him a mental image of two human shaped magical flows, one pulsing like it was in his veins but unlike in a wizard too little and wild, the other tightly wrapped around the man, nearly suffocating him, but also under his skin, wanting to break out.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, letting nothing show on his face about Vir’s discovery, while he sent his thanks to the bird. “Oh believe me, I am aware. Just like I know that you just switched tactics to get me talking. I assure you, this isn't necessary and probably won't work anyway. I have spent the last two years hunting down and interrogating criminals for the government, much like you, though I suspect this to be a private organisation. Anything I tell you will be of my of volition. I have every interest to make this talk productive. You see, the portal I used was one-way only. I'm stuck on this world.”

The redhead raised an eyebrow. “Alright, kid. Then let's talk about that portal of yours. The important facts first if you please.”

Harry took a small breath and reminded himself to be truthful. He knew that he couldn't lie well enough in face of a real professional, but he could leave out any parts he didn't want them to know convincingly. Aurors could be scary teachers. And if the vanquisher of Voldemort said it, it had to be true. “I'll start with what you most likely want to know. My people call the portal the ‘veil of death’ because they believe it to be a door to the realm of the dead, a sure way to die. Though it is placed in a governmental laboratory, even most scientists avoid it, claiming to hear the souls of the dead through it. No one would ever have the idea to jump in voluntarily. So you're safe from any invading force.”

“You know, I'm quite sure, you know what I'm going to ask next.”

The boy who lived smiled tiredly. “Why the hell did I step into a potentially lethal device? Well, there was one person who suspected the truth, a man who was like a grandfather to me. He wrote his suspicion down in a post mortem letter addressed to me, knowing that I would want to know, no matter how improbable. Five years ago someone I cared about accidentally fell into the veil. I came to find him.”

Natasha raised her eyebrow yet again. Harry sighed, understanding without a word. “I know, who stumbles into a death device, right? To understand that, you must know that Britain had been in civil war for quite some time soon following after World War II.” He blinked in contemplation. “Did you guys have Nazis here?”

She gave him a grim nod. “We did. War ended 1945 with Germany's defeat. But there hasn't been civil war in the United Kingdom as far as I know.”

Harry reciprocated her grimness. “Well, I hadn't been born back then, but I heard that it wasn't nice. War never is. In the beginning years it was more an underground movement with racist ideals, that used hit and run tactics, but soon it escalated so much, that people were afraid to walk on the street or even to trust their best friends.” He shrugged. “They weren't wrong exactly. My own parents were betrayed by their long-time friend and murdered. Then their leader was gravely injured and we knew a couple of years of tentative peace. When I was fourteen, he came back, stronger than ever before, and the war soon erupted into something, that did not even spare school children the horrors of war. Sirius, the one I'm searching for, was in the governmental laboratories because the enemy forces tried to get their hands on some records in the laboratory near the one with the veil. He fell through it in the ensuing battle.”

“You were there.” Harry jumped as the gentle voice of the redhead ripped him out of his memories. For a moment, he could not breath. Then Vir let out a long and beautiful sequence of chirps, a melody really, together with a shovel of emotions through their bond and suddenly, he felt better again. Natasha narrowed her eyes at the phoenix as she scrutinised him. “And that bird is capable of emotional manipulation.”

The wizard snorted. “Only partially true. Thank you, Vir.” He scratched him affectionately. “Yes, his voice calms one down. Phoenixes have the clearest voice imaginable. You won't hear anything more beautiful in your life. It is human reflex to relax upon hearing it, not manipulation in the traditional sense.” He saw that she was still skeptical, but didn't push it. Instead he continued: “Yes I was there. I thought I had crucial information and was trying to prevent the radicals to obtain their goal myself with the help of a few friends, because we were unable to contact any adults we trusted.” He shrugged. “Sirius payed for my arrogance. I owe him to find him and be assured of his safety. Two years ago the war ended with the death of their leader. Ever since we have been tying up loose ends by hunting down the scattered radicals. When I received the letter pertaining the veil, I didn't have much else to do in my world as we got most of them, so I took a chance.” He opened his arms helplessly. “Here I am.”

Natasha looked at him for a long time without an expression or saying a word, another tactic Harry knew. He didn't let it faze him and continued to look at her without much emotion. She was good, he had to admit, but he had had such a hard life, it didn't really bother him. Having looked into a dragon’s eye up close was another way of training. Shock therapy was quite efficient, he had come to learn. Finally, she smirked. “Who would have guessed? You really are used to this. But you left out something crucial. _How_ did your grandfatherly friend know about the veil being a portal? If he could find out, so could others.”

Inwardly, he cursed. He had hoped to have talked enough to let them forget that particular point. But of course, it had been a vain attempt and he'd known it. So he replied calmly: “Albus knew because he found something that crossed from another dimension into _mine_. I know, I told you it works one-way only and I believe it to be true. Whatever that rune circle was that I arrived in certainly didn't let anyone go back. But I assume that there is another way from somewhere else that ends there. Curiously enough, nothing else ever crossed over, so it might have been a coincidence. And no, I won't tell you what came into our world. Still, it gave him the idea that the veil is a portal and I had come to trust his hunches. Well”, he shrugged, “seeing as I am here, he was obviously right.”

His interrogator nodded slowly. “I suppose, you expect me to give you something in return, which in turn would make you more forthcoming?” It wasn't really a question and sounded rather wryly. Harry raised his shoulders in an ‘isn't-it-obvious’ kind of manner. “You are in a base of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Devision, short S.H.I.E.L.D. We are indeed a private organisation that protects earth nationally, as well as globally. There are few things on this planet that we aren't aware of. I regret to tell you that there has been no portal like yours arriving on our earth.” He raised a brow, a silent question encompassed in it. One corner of Natasha’s mouth twitched. Harry knew it to be intentional. “Well… we _did_ have other portals arriving though. Are you familiar with Norse mythology?”

Harry blinked owlishly, taken aback by the seemingly out-of-nowhere question. “Err… this might be the moment where I admit to having taken naps during history class”, not that Binns would have ever talked about anything else than goblin rebellions, “but the term does seem familiar. They were the gods the vikings prayed to? Maybe. Thor and his brother Lati, no- something with ‘L’ though. Nevermind. Are you telling me, that those are actually real?” There was a certain amount of incredulousness in his voice.

The redhead looked bemused. “Yes, I am. It's Thor and Loki, by the way. They are the princes of Asgard, which turns out to be another planet that has a portal device called the ‘rainbow bridge’. Its transportation beam looks familiar to the one you used to arrive here. While Thor and Asgard have become tentative allies of earth, Loki lead an alien army of creatures called chitauri to conquer our planet. So you see, there are other inhabited planets with different species in this universe, some friendly, others not so much. We aren't oblivious to portals arriving from different worlds and have the technology to detect them, as we did with yours. But we haven't encountered your friend. I'm sorry.”

Harry clenched his jaw, thinking while not trying to let it affect him too obviously. He didn't want them to know how much Sirius meant to him while he still didn't trust them. Loosing him had nearly destroyed him once. If the woman told him the truth then his godfather never made it to this dimension. He couldn't go through that again. _That isn't exactly true_. He startled, but fixed his gaze on the table in front of him, while inquiring about Vir’s meaning. _That dog is just as stupid and reckless as you. I would bet a feather that he touched the edge of the transportation beam and managed to get thrown out prematurely. There is a chance that he is stranded on another planet._

“Huh.” The boy-who-vanquished blinked. “That would make sense.” Not to mention that he had to hang on to the tiniest scrap of hope. Otherwise he would break down. He looked up, meeting Natasha’s eyes with steel in his. “It’s possible that Sirius, not knowing about it bring a portal, managed to fall out of the beam before reaching his destination. That would mean, that he could be stranded on any other planet. Are you capable of travelling between worlds? If not, I would like to request a meeting with someone of Asgard. I owe it to Sirius to check every possibility of his survival.” Not to mention, that it would start him on getting to know other species. Finding blue skinned, red eyed aliens shouldn't be too hard, right?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I never thought, that this brief first chapter would be so well received. It makes me really happy!:)  
> A huge Thank You to everyone that gave me feedback. It is much appreciated and motivated me to keep writing!  
> I hope, you've enjoyed this chapter as you did the last.   
> Criticism is always welcome!   
> BTW I apologise for skipping between British English and American English. I didn't notice before but my tablet and my notebook are set on different ones... the automatic correction is a pain in the a**. I'll reset one of them as soon as I make up my mind which one I like. Do you guys have a preference?


	3. Chapter 3

 

It turned out, finding blue-skinned, red-eyed aliens was more difficult than first thought. And so was contacting the Asgardians as they were the ones who had to initiate any kind of correspondence between their realms and hadn't visited yet since Thor’s departure earlier that year.

After a long interrogation - pardon, interview - Harry had finally concluded an agreement with S.H.I.E.L.D. that both parties could live with. It mainly consisted of a non-aggression pact, but also included other clauses, granting Harry asylum on this version of earth and the promise to convey his wishes to meet an Asgardian as soon as viable. They had tried to get Harry to rely on them and get more concessions out of him, but with Vir’s help - the bird had witnessed the drafting of the current wizarding constitution and was quite good with contracts of any kind - he had remained as independent as currently possible. It had taken him proving that he had enough wealth to sustain himself - bloody phoenix was quite smug when it became obvious that gold was as valuable here as it had been in their old world - and his consent of remaining under watch for the foreseeable future until he proved himself trustworthy. Undoubtedly, they hoped to get more out of him while he relaxed under a false sense of security. As he would later find out, they couldn't imprison him without actual cause like him breaking the law according to the first contact guidelines set up by the United Nations after Thor’s arrival on earth.

Surprisingly, they had set him up with Iron Man, who was definitely as rich as he had first insinuated, and his fellow Avengers who all lived in the same tower. On the other hand, maybe it hadn't been such a huge surprise. The man had looked like Christmas had come early when studying Vir on their way here. Harry could only imagine what his face looked like when Harry confessed to having magic to Natasha. He had felt the tension of her and those behind the mirror rise. It was in no way visible on her face or from her posture but the past three years had honed Harry’s battle instincts. He had _felt_ their unease. They obviously had had bad experience with magic or magic users. It might also have explained why they made it a clause of his “good will” to let them study a handful of chosen spells.

Harry had willingly agreed, though not to writing down everything he knew or even trying to teach anyone. He had claimed to not being academically inclined - which was true as far as books were concerned - and magic being something one must be born with to wield. They had relented, no doubt satisfied with getting test results from studying him performing magic. Little did they know, that most technology couldn't handle even being around magic. What scans they would be able to perform would be hard earned. He had also resented to having his blood analysed and had only compromised after a heated debate, not having forgotten everything blood could be misused for. They would only draw as much as he allowed and were only permitted to analyse it under his supervision, letting him get rid of any residues right after. Only two of their scientists, Tony Stark and one Bruce Banner, would be allowed to conduct those tests and their aims needed to be explained for each one as he retained his right to veto those he did not condone.

When all those and more minor clauses were agreed on, Tony welcomed him outside the interrogation room along with three other men. One of them reminded him a lot of Kingsley, though missing an eye and looking like he had never once smiled in his life. Everything about his posture screamed “leader of this badass private organisation”. Still, he didn't captivate Harry in the least. Oh, the wizard was still weary of him as he was of all authoritarian figures, but his gaze was drawn away from the other two men, whom he had felt through the mirror earlier. The one who had weak magic like a squib running through his veins, albeit wild and not tamed like usual, was the epitome of a masculine frame. Harry, only just reaching five foot five inches, felt positively dwarfed just standing a few feet away from him. The other was the one reminding Vir of a werewolf. Harry couldn't judge as he had never seen one with his new vision before, but he could understand why the flaming bird thought them alike. It felt like a beast was just underneath his skin.

The dark skinned man stepped within courteous talking distance, but not too close, Harry thought it caution rather than respect. “I am Director Fury, Head of this organisation. Thank you for your cooperation and welcome to earth - this version of it.”

Harry blinked at him, taking in the military like dry welcome and not liking what he saw. “Thank you, Director Fury.” He decidedly stepped past him and approached the obviously awkwardly shy man with the aura of a beast, a smile on his lips and ignoring the tensing bodies all around as he stretched out a hand. ”Hello. I'm Harry. It's so nice to meet you. Don't get me wrong, but can I ask what kind of creature you are?”

The man gasped at him and stuttered: “E-excuse me?” The tense people all around didn't relax one bit. Harry had seen Natasha fondle a gun and the other nameless guy next to the werewolf-like one seemed ready to jump into action within a heartbeat.

Harry dropped the hand and sheepishly scratched his neck. “I’m sorry, if I'm too forward. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I know, people can give you crap about the beast side of you. Well, I don't really mind. My honorary uncle was a werewolf. So I'm just curious.” He shrugged.

The man in front of him blinked, clearly not used to such a greeting, though Harry noticed that his beast side wasn't news - just like he had expected. “I-”, the man seemed positively baffled, “my name is Bruce Banner. Nice to meet you too.” He extended a hand, which Harry happily took. A cautious smile crept on his wary face. “I really do have a… ‘beast side’ as you call it. I'm not quite sure, what anyone would call it. As far as I know, I'm the only one of my kind. I turn into a huge, green and angry humanoid creature when in rage. _How did you know?_ ” The sheer incredulous tone proved him to be truthful.

The boy-who-lived smiled kindly. This man reminded him so much of Remus - the insecurity, fear and self-loathing - that it hurt. The man needed a true friend that didn't mind his ‘green side’ just like Sirius and James hadn't cared about Remus’ ‘furry problem’. But getting such a man to trust a perfect stranger wasn't easy. Still, Harry couldn't leave the matter now that he was aware of it. “I see magic”, he explained matter-of-factly. “Whatever the beast inside you, it's magical and its signature resembles a werewolf’s. It really is curious. You're the first trace of ordered magic I've encountered on this earth.”

The man looked surprised. “Magical? How…? I became this way through gamma radiation. Are you telling me that there is a link between gamma radiation and the energy form you call ‘magic’?”

“Err-”, Harry was at a loss for words and chuckled. “Honestly? I've no idea. Back in my world I had a friend who'd provably freak out about the idea and would've jumped at verifying that thesis, but me? I'm a fighter, not a researcher. I make up magic and stuff as I go. But seeing as you are one of the two allowed to play with my blood, I'd suggest testing it for that ‘gamma radiation’ stuff or whatever. I have no bloody idea what that even is, except that it's science-y stuff. I'm educated in magic, not science. The most I have ever used technology for was by using a telephone - not that I have any idea how it works.”

A snort from the last unnamed man nearly startled him. “I’m sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just that I completely understand you. I've been frozen in ice for about seventy years. Technology is still foreign territory for me ever since I woke up. Steve Rogers, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Harry took the offered hand and was surprised about the firm handshake the one with the squib-like signature gave him. It was all military style orderly. “Pleased to meet you, too Mister Rogers. Anything else I should know about you aside from not going to you with my surely soon to be upcoming technological issues?”

The other man smiled wryly. “Call me Steve. Like Tony, Natascha and Bruce here I am part of the Avengers. So you'll be seeing me a lot in the tower.” Meaning that he was one of the ones watching him. Brilliant. At least he got to study the trace of magic in his blood by observation.

No matter how much he thought about it, he had no idea what it could be. And playing out his hand before needing it was just plain stupid. He simply hadn't been able to resist with the one who reminded him of Remus. So he kept quiet about this at least. They didn't want him to know yet so that meant they kept it as an ace up their sleeves. Him knowing about it would make him able to one up them if necessary. “I see. I look forward to getting to know you then, _Steve._ ” Getting on a familiar basis to make him feel comfortable and more probable to accidentally let something slip. _Constant vigilance_. Not only Moody but his whole old team lived by that motto. Harry had had no choice but to adept. Their time with Tonks and Kyle Michaels had made them prone to pranking to properly educate new recruits - especially Kyle. Harry wasn't sure he appreciated being drenched in glue and feathers more than a sore bum from constant sneak stinging hexes that had been practice before Kyle had joined up.

“So are we just going to stand around and awkwardly get to know each other or will we go home, relax with a nice glass of-”

“Sir, we have a problem”, an agent interrupted Tony while running up to them. The man came closer while Fury stepped a couple of feet away to insure privacy. When the inaudible whispers ended, the dark skinned man looked grim. “I see. Banner, Stark, take Mister… Harry to the avengers tower. The rest of the team comes with me. We need to be on site sometime yesterday.” He turned in a flourish and strode away, an apologetic Steve Rogers and the black widow in tow.

Harry turned back towards Tony, who was immersed in a futuristic looking glass device that looked to be something like a mini computer in function. At Leser Harry guessed that was what it was. He glanced back at Bruce Banner who shrugged. “Whenever something happens, Tony likes to know about it. Let's get going. He can type and walk at the same time.”

“And talk”, the billionaire threw in but started walking nonetheless. Harry followed suit, wondering what he got himself into now.

_You know, with you nothing would surprise me anymore._

Only a couple of days later Vir would choke in surprise.

 

~~~

 

“Lántr, I immolate this sacrifice in your immortal name, may you have reached the planes of Fiur. I call upon those who died in raging war. Remembered be your souls. Guide him for he does not know the way. I call upon those who died from hate. Remembered be your souls. Shield him for he does not know how to himself. I call upon those that died too soon. Remembered be your souls. Console him for he has no one else to share the burden with. I call upon Death. Remembered be your memory. Remember him. Lántr. I remember you. Lántr. I will not forget you. Lántr, forgive me.”

“You still pray for him.”

He startled and ripped his gaze from the flickering flames in the silver bowl in front of him to whirl around, a hand flying to his halberd. Then he realised who had just entered the temple and relaxed. “Every day for the last one-thousand-and-forty-seven years since”, he replied softly and returned his gaze to the sacrificial fire.

“You know, that's not what he would want. Coming here makes you more grumpy than you already are. Lántr is quite a forgiving person. He wouldn't blame you if he knew what happened.”

By sighed and threw the last bit of incense into the flames. Taking a deep breath and bowing in farewell, he stood up and turned to face his little brother. Nál hadn't even been born at the time but he still insisted that Lántr as well as Loptr were alive. As much as By trusted his little brother’s intuition, he could not dare to hope it be true. He had seen Lántr die with his own eyes. No matter what Nál thought, it simply wasn't possible for him to have survived. Loptr he could believe to have survived the chaos of war, but not Lántr. Not when he had been the one to kill him.

“I know, he wouldn't have. He had a gentle soul. Even after being repudiated, he smiled. He was so strong.” A sad, tiny smile found its way onto his lips. “You know, Loptr cried. He was the more sensitive of the two. Even in the short time I was blessed with them, Loptr tended to cling onto Lántr.”

His little brother smiled in turn. It was happy, full of bliss unlike his own. “I know. You've told me only like a million times. You know, there's actually a reason I'm here.”

By let out a huff and started to re-don his armour. “Let me guess, the council is getting antsy and decided to reconvene again. Frosted idiots can't manage without a king.”

“True that”, drawled a familiar voice from the temple entrance, “but not the reason we're here.” By looked past his little brother to see his other standing there, dressed in battle armour himself.

The code didn't allow any warrior to go outside city boundaries without it on at all times in case of an absent or dead king. Nál was somewhat of an exception to that rule, but then again there was nothing normal about him. Most Jotnar had red eyes. Some had violet ones. Few had blue. Nál was the only known one to possess black eyes. People called him the cursed son of Laufey - and they weren't wrong about it entirely. In some ways Nál was blessed, in others cursed. It depended entirely on the point of view. Point being, people wouldn't care if he didn't behave as expected. So him being here, miles away from the capital, in nothing but a tunic and breeches didn't even merit a second glance.

“Blin”, he tried not to let his surprise show through his voice and had refrained from showing any outward sign of it. “It’s been ages since you last set foot in a temple.”

“Trust me, brother. If I had any choice in this matter, I would not be here. Alas, you've raised a frosted, evil master manipulator.” Blin’s voice was as dry as anything in Jotunheim could ever be.

By raised a brow and looked at his youngest brother. “What did you blackmail him with this time?”

Nál batted his eyelashes innocently. “Whatever do you speak of, dear brother mine? What could a harmless, little Jotun like me do to such a fierce-”

“Whatever”, Blin cut in, “get moving, By. The council is freezing their asses off outside. That frostbite over there made them come out here too.”

That actually caught his attention. “You know something”, he called Nál out belatedly. Somehow his littlest brother always _knew_ when something was about to happen. By supposed it might be a godhood as there was no seer blood in their line but couldn't be sure. Nál had never announced such. Few gods outside frosted Asgard actually did. It was just plain stupid to reveal all your cards without cause. And Nál was many things, but stupid was not one of them.

The black-eyed boy smiled serenely. “I sure did. No idea, what's about to happen, but it is _big_ , big enough to give me headaches days in advance.” And that was the thing. Nál always _knew_ things, but he was neither prophet nor seer and most certainly not an oracle or such. He simply _knew_. “It’s going to influence the whole of Jotunheim, that's for sure. Now _come on_. It's going to happen any moment now.”

By let himself be dragged outside into the plain ice fields that had been sites for countless battles amongst other things in the past, some of them not so long ago. The council was indeed there, all twenty-four of them, the heads of the eldest families of this realm. Scattered amongst them were a couple of warriors with the duty to protect those council members that were not capable of doing so themselves. Only some of those gathered here were frost giants. So By supposed, they might _actually_ freeze their best parts off if held here for too long. He dearly hoped his brother had a real reason for summoning them here in the cusp of winter. It was freezing cold even for him.

“Prince Nál, may we now know the reason for our being here?”, inquired councilman Brindr of house Suncaller. He was a fire giant and as such probably particularly discomforted in these harsh weather conditions.

His brother beamed at him. “Just wait. It is going to happen any moment now.”

The council’s faces weren't any happier for that information. But as soon as another one of them opened their mouth to dispute Nál’s decisions to keep waiting out here in the winter winds there was an outcry. “My princes! It feels like a portal is being opened!”

By whipped around to follow Landeri’s gaze and found a patch of snow that had begun to glow icy blue. His hand found his weapon. “All warriors fall into battle formation! Shield the council!” They took their positions and waited. It took an awfully long time for the portal to connect.

Just as he was considering evacuating the council into the temple, Blin stepped up next to him. “It’s the casket”, his voice was low and reverent, “it is calling us.”

“But the casket is on Asgard”, Faley of house Leafedge objected, “it can't be.”

“Obviously it's still working”, his brother dryly retorted.

But By was hesitant. “Then why hasn't it called us immediately when the king died? Why the delay?”, he wondered quietly.

“Maybe it needed more time to function because it can't draw power from its planet directly?” By considered what Nidri had theorised.

“That's not it.” Everyone looked at Nál, who smiled softly. “It couldn't reach us all before.”

“Isn't that the same thing?” Nál smiled but didn't reply.

“…Right. So this is really it? This is the royal call we've been waiting for? The Casket of Ancient Winters?”

Councilwoman Yilauti straightened and regarded one after another. “Indeed it is. I recall the last time it sent out the royal call. The forming runes were exactly the same. The connection takes a while to form because it is a stable one, not temporary. It will remain until it has fulfilled its purpose.” She stepped in front of the three brothers, her head bowing regally. “In the name of the ancient council of Jotunheim I wish you the best of luck on your journey, my princes.”

By couldn't believe his ears. “But the casket is in Asgard”, Landeri voiced his thoughts.

“Indeed. Which means whoever moves through that portal will likely be accosted by Aesir who are probably freaking out right now, because they have no idea what is frosting going on. It is likely that those who cross the portal won't make it back.”

By frowned. Councilman Nidri had just spoken out what he had thought himself but hearing it only made him realise that there was only one way. “I will pass through it alone. I suppose it is time to _renegotiate_ with Asgard. They probably are panicking right now. Whether ours is the only portal right now or not, it could become messy if we don't educate these barbarians on the casket’s purpose. And if the royal call is to be followed, we will need their cooperation.”

“I will accompany you, my Prince. It is too dangerous for you to go, let alone by yourself. I know, you will want to go regardless, so at least let me come with you.”

Said frost giant shook his head and smiled softly at his old friend. “No, Landeri. You are our mightiest warrior as well as our only acknowledged god. I will not hazard your life for an endeavour that can be accomplished by myself. I call for a vote.”

Yilauti nodded and raised her voice. “Prince Byleistr has called for a vote. All those in favour of his proposal say ‘Jot’.” A chorus of Jots was heard in the frost plain while the portal was still forming in front of their eyes. “Nine in favour. Do I hear ‘Jay’s? Thirteen against. Five voices withheld. Let it be noted that Prince Byleistr’s request has been denied, which I wholeheartedly approve of. None of our princes should be put in that much danger, especially if the casket is finally working. Do we have other options?”

“I reiterate, it would be an honour to take on this quest. Even on my own.”

“You won't be”, Nál smiled at Landeri. Landeri blinked in surprise but had no reply to that.

A warrior stepped up and bowed deeply in front of the princes. “I request to be part of the emissary mission to Asgard.”

The youngest prince nodded. “I think it wise to send the two of you, accomplished warriors with level heads. Unless there are objections I call for a vote.”

By silently wondered whether it was intriguing or frightening that his youngest brother, who was balancing dangerously in between carefreeness and carelessness, had such a sway over the council.

He never stopped to wonder what prince Helblindi thought about the matter. The middle brother had refrained from any vote, watching the still forming portal with intensity, its icy gleam reflecting in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello folks,  
> I do apologize for long intervals between updates. I'll try to write faster but inspiration comes when it suits them, not me...  
> Also, you deserve to know that I don't actually need that much time to write one single chapter. it's rather that I am currently writing on 3 different stories, this one included. The other two I am simply not feeling comfortable enough to post just yet. I probably will but one of them (another Harry Potter Crossover) is missing a scene in the first chapter that I can't seem to fill and the other (a HP time travel and... a lot of other stuff. seriously, this one is somewhat messed up) which is actually the longest I have so far is missing the first chapter altogether. yeah, I'm no good with first chapters... with Laufeyson I was actually surprised I managed to write one before the actual story...  
> well, so much for that. never fear, I'm still writing on Laufeyson (actually I've been writing on the other two a whole lot longer, so...)  
> yeah, just let's go with that and stop me from blabbing too much  
> oh I hope you liked my first view on Jotunheim. I am going to built that culture with my own imagination as the movies don't really go into that and I am somewhat too lazy to read the comics (and proud of that fact. stone me...)  
> as always I'd appreciate comments - oh before I forget: Thanks for all your reviews. it's so much fun to read them!:)  
> sincerely,  
> Amaryllidaceae  
> (btw. just ignore my spelling grammar and such in my notes. I felt lazy, alright?:P)


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